Snape's Serendipity
by Snilyshipper6
Summary: A new young female professor joins the Hogwarts staff. Snape oddly seems to know her. The new teacher resembles Harrys dead mother. The woman and Snape revive their old relationship; insanity ensues. Happens during GoF and beyond Story for snily shippers!
1. Chapter 1

It was Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts. He was riding the train and speaking with Ron and Hermione about what the year might have in store for them. In no way did they expect a quiet year. Especially after the events that took place at the Quidditch World Cup just a few days prior to their train ride. Oh how right they were.

They arrived at the wizarding school just before dinner. The trio headed to their chambers to unpack their belongings and then immediately headed to the great hall for a feast. Harry sat on one side of the table with Ron and Hermione sitting opposite him. Harry was seated with a view of the Slytherin house table and Ron and Hermione were facing the Ravenclaw table, with Ravenclaw and Gryffindor being the two house tables centered in the room. Everyone was extremely hungry from the long train ride so nearly no one spoke during the dinner.

Towards the end of banquet, Dumbledore got up to speak. "As you all know, the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place this year at Hogwarts…" Harry started off intently listening to the headmaster but then his eyes drifted towards Professor Snape who had a very stern expression on his face, as usual. "…In a few moments students from Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic will be joining us for the rest of the evening…" Harry was anxious to meet other wizards outside of Hogwarts seeing as this school has been his only window into the wizarding world. "…But first, I would like to introduce our newest staff members, one of which who will be arriving shortly…" Both Harry and Hermione's heads and ears perked up. They hadn't noticed a missing member of staff prior to Dumbledore's acknowledgement, but once they scanned the staff table they noticed Filius Flitwick was missing from the lineup. Specifically, the seat next to Snape was empty. "…In addition to our new Defense teacher, Professor Moody, there will also be another new professor joining the Hogwarts staff…" Students were expecting a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor after what transpired with Professor Lupin last year, but not a new head of house. "…_She_ will be the new head of Ravenclaw house and the new Charms professor…" Snape's face showed slight anxiety as Dumbledore said this. _Couldn't be_ Snape thought. Harry noticed Professor Snape's expression change but decided to dismiss it. Snape was an enigmatic man and at this point Harry stopped trying to speculate reasons for his actions. "…and Professor Burbage will be taking over as maestro from now on. Ah, here she is now; Professor Lermernia." The doors to the great hall flung open just as Dumbledore was speaking his last sentence. A woman no taller than five feet nine inches and no older than twenty five or twenty six appeared in the doorway and began walking towards the staff table. She was wearing a beautiful dusky blue dress made of silk that was long enough to touch the floor with long sleeves and a wide, but conservative neckline, showing off most of her shoulders but no cleavage. Her dress was banded in the waist and got larger as it went down her incredibly long legs. She had red, voluminous hair parted on the side that went down a few inches past her shoulders, pale skin with light freckles, and eyes that would change color depending on what she wore. Her eyes were blue now of course because of her dress but they could also be green or teal with the right top. Everyone's eyes were on her as she made her grand entrance. Students were not expecting a young professor to begin teaching at Hogwarts, much less an attractive one.

"Hello Harry," she waved and said in her American accent as she walked past the infamous individual, not acknowledging anyone else. Harry turned around to see the expressions on his friend's faces. Ron was looking away from Harry and at the new instructor as she finished walking up to her seat.

"She looks like your mother!" whispered Hermione to Harry.

"You think?" Harry watched her say hello to her new colleagues as she finally took her seat next to Professor Snape, who did not welcome the young woman. Snape cringed and was very standoffish towards the new professor, but not in his typical way. Snape knew this woman and Harry could tell. He didn't seem to like her very much for whatever reason, and to Harry this meant that she must be a decent individual. Anyone Snape didn't like had to be a good person, he figured. After all Snape didn't like him, and he had good morals. Snape sat forward in his chair and rudely put his elbows on the table, still not paying any attention to Professor Lermernia. She could tell he was uncomfortable sitting next to her and felt ashamed. He stayed that way during the entire introduction of the other wizarding schools and the explanation of the Triwizard Tournament rules.

After everyone was introduced and rules were set in place, Snape decided it was finally polite to dismiss himself from dinner. He expeditiously exited the side door to the chamber of portraits, leaving Lermernia and the other professors in the dust. With this motion all the other professors stared at Lermernia. She flushed with embarrassment. Snape was too swift and too subtle for the students to notice, otherwise they would have stared at the new professor too.


	2. Chapter 2

After Snape made his hasty exit that evening, he immediately apparated to The Riddle House for the nights Death Eater meeting. There, many fellow Death Eaters discussed and relayed what happened after the Quidditch World Cup to Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort did not require much of Snape during that meeting, so his mind drifted elsewhere. _How could she be back? She graduated Hogwarts and returned home, we were never supposed to meet again. What kind of terms were we even on? I thought she hated me. No way would she have taken this job knowing she would have to work alongside me. It just doesn't make any sense._

"Severus…" the Dark Lord hissed. This brought Snape out of his thought. He looked around the room and noticed it was empty aside from himself and Lord Voldemort. "…Why have you stayed behind? Do you wish to speak with me? Any news from Hogwarts?"

"No my lord, nothing new to recount. I'll get out of your way, if it is what you wish."

"Very well Severus." With that, Severus stood up from where he had been sitting the entire time and made his way to the door. "I would hope that you would pay more attention to our meetings next time Severus." Severus was chagrined.

"My deepest apologies my lord. I will try to focus more next time." Severus left The Riddle House and apparated back to Hogwart's front entrance.

It was very late now. Any distinguished Hogwarts student would have been long asleep by now. The castle's halls were empty and for a moment, Severus' day was peaceful.

He made his way to his chamber and opened the door only to find Professor Lermernia seated in a chair facing the entrance.

"Hello Severus." She did not know where he had gone after dinner. She figured it was the same mysterious place he would always run off to, all those years ago. But the matter wasn't really on her mind, she was more determined to find out why he had been so rude to her at dinner.

"How did you find my room?" He was interested to see her there after the way he treated her during dinner.

The chair she was sitting in had mangled and torn upholstery. She was twisting and focused on a stray thread on the arm rest. "It's a secret," she said. She lifted her head to meet his eyes "you're familiar with those."

Snape's room was not very big in square footage; however the room felt very open due to furniture positioning. As soon as you enter the head of Slytherin's chamber you are in his office, a circular room with ceiling-high mahogany bookshelves all around, custom made to fit the room's atypical shape and height. There is also a stove off to one side, so he can make himself tea as he does his paperwork. His dark mahogany desk is directly in the middle of the room with his chair facing the entrance and the other usually placed opposite his, but was now turned around and had Lermernia seated in it. There were no windows anywhere in his room. Past his office is one stair leading up to his bedroom, which is light yet still dark at the same time. Although you can only see a small selection of Snape's bedroom from his office, you could see that the walls were a natural yellow color, almost like an aged yellow, an unintentional color of yellow which helped to lighten the room, and his bedroom furniture kept with the mahogany theme going on in his office which made the room feel dark.

Still holding his eyesight, Lermernia stood up and walked over to Snape. She placed her hand on his face and studied him from up close, finally returning to meet his eyes again. "You haven't changed at all, Severus." Now, she wrapped her arms around his back, and placed the side of her head in his chest. Looking at a book directly in front of her she said "I miss you." She closed her eyes and hugged him tighter.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" He asked in his slow but stern voice.

Lermernia hoped he would reciprocate her feelings but she settled for any acknowledgement. "Just hot water with lemon, please."

"I see you haven't changed either." Hot water with lemon is what Lermernia always preferred instead of tea. He put on a kettle and sat in his chair at his desk.

With a flick of her wand, Lermernia turned the chair back around to face Severus and sat down.

"So, what have you been up to?" He was highly fascinated to find out. He hadn't heard from her in nine years and was beginning to worry that something might have happened to her.

She looked back at the stray thread on the arm rest and began twisting it again. "Well, once I graduated Hogwarts, there didn't seem to be any reason for me to stay here, or to find a job in the wizarding world…" She watched Snape now. Searching his face to see if what she had just said fazed him at all. Surely what she had just said must have hurt him a little. No sign. Snape had always been very good at hiding his emotions. Too good. "…I moved back to Chicago and got a job in the muggle world as a mathematician…" Lermernia was always very good math and puzzles, part of the reason why she was sorted into Ravenclaw in the first place. "…I had been working there for six years when Dumbledore wrote me and asked me to be a professor in charms the next year at Hogwarts. Obviously, I agreed."

Snape knew that Flitwick had wanted to retire for a long time now, or get a job as a proper maestro in the muggle world. At any rate, employing Lermernia was certainly a more interesting change of pace for the school.

"What about you?" she asked although she already knew what he was going to say. She merely asked to be polite.

"I've been here…teaching." He nodded his head still trying to process the fact that she had returned to Hogwarts.

The kettle was whistling now, so Snape stood up to fetch a teacup and pour Lermernia her drink. He tightly and harshly squeezed the lemon slice into the drink before dropping the lemon in the teacup. He handed it to her and she placed it on his desk in front of her. "Thank you," she said.

"I trust Dumbledore has told you about the boy."

"Harry Potter? Yes, of course." The tone in the room had changed now. It was no longer about the two of them and their quarrels. It was about something much bigger than that; it was about defeating the dark lord. "It's terrible what happened to his parents."

"You know, you look a great deal like his mother." Snape regretted the words as soon as he uttered them.

"You knew his parents?" Lermernia's focus shifted back to the two of them.

Snape noticed her sudden interest in his past relationships and chose his next words carefully, as not to divulge too much information, "I went to school with his parents."

"So yes. Yes you knew his parents." She was becoming flustered, as if she was building up to something.

Snape was confused and fearful of her impulsiveness.

"Was his mother's name by any chance _Lily_?" Lermernia had not known about Harry Potter, his parents, or Voldemort's quest at all until speaking with Dumbledore. She had spent so long in the muggle world that during that time she never concerned herself with what was happening on the other side. Events that occurred during her schooling at Hogwarts made her disinterested in wizards. However, Lermernia had been waiting a long time to find out who this mysterious Lily person was and her relation to Snape.

Snape had been found out and didn't know how to react. He paused to think of a delicate way to answer her, to keep her calm.

She stood and leaned over the desk waiting for an answer. Her eyes a little watery. A few moments passed and when it was clear that Snape was not going to admit to anything, Lermernia turned around and started moving towards the door, tears filling her eyes.

He started to chase after her, "Lila," he cried.

She was just about to open the door when she turned around and hit him gently with her forearm in the chest and held it there, "you always call me Lily! You always mistake me for her! Why couldn't you tell me who she was before?" She was in complete distress and searching his eyes to see if she was wasting her time asking questions or not.

"I…I…" What he was trying to convey was _I'm sorry_ but in these sorts of moments it's difficult to articulate when you're worried you're breaking someone's heart.

She turned back around to the door, opened it, and fled his office. Hands covering her face as she went.


	3. Chapter 3

Early morning sunlight shone through the hallway's windows. Soon students would fill the very hallway she stood in while on their way to class. Lila knew this and tried to get to her office as quickly as she could. Her efforts failed. Through her tear filled eyes she could see students swarming the halls from a corridor to her left. They couldn't see her like this, she thought. What would the students think seeing their esteemed new professor emotionally torn in the hallway? No. Lila would not allow her image to be damaged so easily. She tried to contain herself and continued walking down the hallway with a more refined demeanor. When she was finally safe from scrutiny in her quarters, she burst into tears. She was crying because she was still upset that she and Snape had parted ways those nine years ago. There was no doubt by her, him, or anyone else present at Hogwarts at the time that Severus Snape was Lila's favorite professor. Many students and other professors often speculated that they might even love each other. All rumors of course, nothing was ever confirmed.

_Classes_ she thought. Having a new profession was a change of pace for her; it would have been for anybody. She still wasn't used to her new schedule yet. She gathered herself up and tried to make herself look as presentable as possible in the very few minutes she had before her first charms class convened. She strategically mapped the route she would take to arrive at her classroom, as to avoid Severus. She arrived at the classroom only two minutes late and began teaching the second years about the Skurge charm.

Thankfully, Lermernia only had two morning classes that day so once she was done teaching the latter; she scurried off to her room to get some sleep. She hadn't slept at all the night before because she was interviewing Snape and she didn't function very well without a good night's rest. She put on her pajamas, crawled into bed, and fell asleep nearly immediately.

During lunch in the great hall, Lermernia was missing. No staff or students knew why, but it was because she was still asleep. Severus arrived late to lunch. He normally did not make an appearance during lunch time and this caused him to be late. The only reason he showed up today was in the hopes of seeing Professor Lermernia at the staff table. When he saw that she was missing, he considered returning to his chamber but decided to stay in case she too arrived late.

Lermernia awoke later that afternoon and began to think about her conversation with Severus the night before. _Lily_ she thought. _Could she have anything to do with where he's been sneaking off to all this time? Maybe to visit her grave? Who was she to him? Definitely someone important. _ Lermernia came to the conclusion that Snape and Lily were once romantically involved. It seemed to be the only logical conclusion to her. _But she didn't marry Snape. She married the Potter kid's father, so something must have broken up their relationship. That's what he's hiding. He doesn't want whatever happened with him and Lily to happen between him and me. But what is it? Surely things have changed? …maybe not. But if he doesn't think our situation is any different between his and Lily's, then maybe I am doing the right thing in being upset with him. But surely he's learned from his mistakes. So it must be something out of his control, otherwise he would make a change. Maybe it's best I wait for him to tell me. Yes. I'll wait for him and he can tell me when he's ready._

When Lermernia never showed up for lunch, Snape took it as a personal offense. _She must be so very livid with me _he thought _and rightly so._ He did not seek her out for the rest of the day.

**Writer's note: How do you guys like it so far? I know this chapter was a little slow, but it picks back up again. I'll be adding a new chapter to this story every day, so be sure to check back if you like it! **


	4. Chapter 4

One day had passed since Lermernia ditched lunch and it was now Wednesday morning. She was already in her classroom and awaiting her fourth year students to file in. She still hadn't seen Snape since that evening she confronted him, and was anxious to speak with him. Once class had begun, she introduced herself to the students. This was the only group of students she felt compelled to speak about herself to, mainly because Harry Potter was in this class. She wanted information from Potter. Maybe he knew what tore Snape and Lily apart. She had spent the entire class talking about herself and presumed that all of her students must have thought she was entirely vain by this point. She decided to release the students before she made a further fool of herself. All her students, except Harry Potter who she asked to stay behind.

"What did you want to speak to me about Professor?"

"Oh Harry, nothing in particular," she smiled. "I just wanted to make myself known as an ally to you. Dumbledore told me about your parents and your story has compelled me to join the fight against you-know-who." Lila wasn't afraid of his name, but didn't say it for Harry's sake. She assumed it was a sensitive subject for him.

"That's very kind of you… Thank you." Harry was suspicious of her forthrightness. He knew she was somehow tied to Snape and didn't feel she deserved his full trust because of that.

"Oh look! You're missing lunch. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have asked you stay after." She was genuinely sorry about keeping him from eating, but she was still smiling to show her friendliness. "You should go."

Harry nodded politely and walked towards the door.

"Don't be a stranger, Harry," Lermernia added as Harry was exiting her classroom.

"Of course not."

Lermernia decided to skip lunch again. She was looking forward to speaking with Severus, but at the staff table, in front of everyone was not the right time.


	5. Chapter 5

Apparently, Lermernia also decided to skip dinner as she was not present during the banquet. Snape was starting to worry about her aversion. He was becoming upset. How could he apologize to her if he couldn't even find her? He decided to give up his search for the time being, and return to his quarters.

He began grading student's homework when he heard a knock at the door. "Come in," he said not getting up from his desk.

Lermernia gracefully opened the door with a smile on her face. "Hello."

Severus was surprised "I…I've been looking for you."

"Oh? I didn't know that." She was pleasantly surprised to hear this. _He cares_ she thought.

"Well, if I'm being honest, I was making a very great attempt at it."

"Oh." In that moment, all the pleasantness was taken from her.

"I wanted to talk to you about our last conversation. I wanted to-"

"Don't worry about it, really Severus, its fine."

"But you were upset; surely you want to know what I have to say."

"I don't want you to feel pressured to tell me anything you don't want to. Don't feel like you have to give up information just because you feel guilty. I want you to tell me things on your own time."

He was shocked by her amount of tolerance and patience and also grateful because he truthfully didn't want to reveal anything about his relationship with Lily in fear of repeating the same events again with Lila. He was just going to lie to her anyway. _She forgave me for being rude to her the first night she arrived at Hogwarts and now she's doing it again. She has all the qualities I wish I had_ he thought.

Lila could tell he was appreciative of her response. "Anyway, the real reason I stopped by was to ask you out dancing-"

"Dancing?" He cut her off, "you want to take me _dancing_?"

Lila was hesitant, "yes. This Saturday night at seven."

Severus thought about the words they had just spoken to one another. _She's being patient with me. If I want this to work out this time, I have to put in some sort of effort._ "Saturday night… Where?"

Lila smiled. She was happy to see he was at least humoring her, when he could have very well just declined. "It's this muggle dance parlor." Lermernia was muggle-born and so she was very familiar with the non-magic world. She didn't see it as bad the way Severus did. She liked it.

Severus winced at the idea of voluntarily putting himself among muggles.

Lila noticed this change but decided to overlook it. She knew he never liked muggles because of his father, but she still didn't feel that was an adequate reason to write them all off. "What's the harm, Severus? You know it will be fine, and plus, I'll be there."

"Alright," he agreed.

"Thank you," Lila said thankfully but softly. Her beautiful smile returned to her face as she left his office.


	6. Chapter 6

Saturday night came around and both of the professors were in their rooms getting ready for the evening. Lermernia put on a short, velvet navy blue dress with long sleeves and a plunging scoop neck in the front and back. The dress showed off her mile-long legs well. She put on some black heels, put her hair up in a messy bun, put on her navy pea coat and waited for Severus to pick her up.

Meanwhile Severus was in his room getting prepared for the evening. He was running late, but not because he had forgotten. He was worried and he wanted to impress her. He only really ever wore his Hogwarts robes, so many of his other clothes were dated and not appropriate for this sort of evening. He conjured up a slytherin green dress shirt and black slacks.

Severus was thirty minutes late which compelled Lermernia to see what was holding him up. She assumed he had forgotten.

When she arrived, she let herself in. She was jumping to conclusions and was upset at Severus' timing. When she saw a frantic Severus trying to make himself look acceptable, she had a change of heart. She smiled and let out a little giggle.

"Here I am, worried about my appearance and there you are laughing at me." She looked marvelous. Even more so than normal. It put even more pressure on him to look the part.

She went over to him and in an attempt to calm him, she kissed him on the cheek. The heels she was wearing made her nearly the same height as Severus. She smiled and began buttoning up his shirt.

Seeing her smile and how compassionate she was did calm Severus. He thought about apologizing for holding them up, but decided against it. He knew she understood.

He pulled his long black hair into a ponytail at the nape of his neck with a few strands still shaping his face because they weren't long enough to reach to the back of his neck. He wanted to be focused on the night's activities and hair in his face would have prevented him from doing so.

Snape grabbed his Hogwarts cloak and the two left his office. They couldn't apparate to the building because Snape had never been there before, and therefore couldn't focus well enough on the destination. They were going to take a car instead. The couple were smiling hand-in-hand and walking down a corridor to leave when they ran into Harry Potter roaming the halls on his own.

Lila didn't notice him at first because she was so enthralled to be in Snape's company, but she said Hello as soon as she saw him. "Where are you headed Harry?" asking more to be polite than to really find out the answer.

"Just to my room, Professors." He was in awe that Snape wasn't wearing his normal black robes. He wondered how this woman could have such an effect on him. He didn't think Snape would go outside his comfort zone for anyone. He also wondered what drew Professor Lermernia to him. Surely she could do better. He had qualms about the authenticity of their relationship.

Lermernia looked at Snape and smiled when she said, "we're going out dancing."

Snape rolled his eyes and Harry smiled in disbelief. It was comical learning that his most conservative and sheltered professor was doing something outgoing.

Lila let go of Severus' hand. She was embarrassed by both of their reactions and the smile had left her face. She looked at Harry, "the Yule Ball is coming up, I'm sure you're aware of that Harry." She gazed back at Severus now, "we're just going out to practice."

To Harry this seemed like an acceptable reason for dancing and any suspicions he had prior escaped his mind.

"Who are you asking to the ball?" She genuinely asked.

"I haven't thought about it yet," answered Harry.

"Well whoever she is, she is very lucky to have you as her date," her eyes widened as she smiled. "I think we're going to be leaving now. It was nice seeing you, Harry."

They went their separate ways and Lila took hold of Severus' hand again. Snape and Lila continued to their car when Snape mocked, "she is very lucky to have you as her date." He scoffed.

"Hey!" Lila said with a half-smile as she pushed a stray hair behind her ear with her free hand. She could take a joke. "Just trying to be polite." She wrapped her arm around his as they reached their car.

A jazz band was playing when they arrived. The couple definitely stood out among the muggles. Even muggles thought they were an odd couple. Surely a woman as appealing as her could get a better looking, less strange man. As they were hanging up their coats, Snape took notice of their stares but Lila didn't seem to be aware, or she was just ignoring it.

Lila stepped out onto the dance floor first and held out her hand for Severus to join her, looking him in the eye. Snape scanned the room. The muggles had stop paying attention to them. Snape grabbed her hand just as the song was ending and put his other hand around her waist. They stood in place, waiting for the next song to start. When it started, they both stepped forward causing them to step on each other's feet. For the first time in a long time Snape smiled. "You step backwards first," he said politely, looking above her head as to hold position.

"Right, right." She thought it was humiliating. Here she was asking him out to dance, and she was the one who messed up.

Severus thought it was cute. He liked seeing her make mistakes. It brought her heavenly personality back down to Earth.

They finished out the dance with little to no mistakes. They decided they were good enough dancers, and didn't need any more practice so they went over to a table to spend the rest of their evening talking and listening to music. They sat at a booth, next to each other, facing the band. The couple ordered a few alcoholic beverages and spent the rest of the evening cuddling, mostly on Lila's part, and chatting.

It was nice for Severus to escape Hogwarts life and just spend some time with someone he cared so much about. It was nights like these that made him never want Lila to find out he was a death eater, even if he was just a spy.

**Writer's Note: Hello again, I hope you like the new chapter of my story. I'll be posting chapter 7(which is a continuation of chapter six events) tomorrow night around 7PM or 8PM Eastern Time. This is the time period that I will always be uploading new chapters. I upload a new chapter once a day, so please check back around this time if you'd like to continue reading it! Thank you for reading and write me a review if you want to give me feedback! I look forward to it.**


	7. Chapter 7

Back at Hogwarts, Lila was drunk. They had arrived back at the castle many hours later and were walking, or stumbling, to Lila's chamber. Severus only had one drink that evening, but the same could not be said for Lila who was using Severus as a crutch as they walked. Severus was not disappointed in her drinking. He was still experiencing the light cheerfulness he felt back at the parlor.

Lila was humming the tune they had danced to that evening and trying to get Snape to dance with her through the empty Hogwarts halls. He thought she was friendly teasing and therefore resisted dancing. She kept pestering him, asking him to twirl her and dance.

Severus finally gave in. He took Lila by her waist and dipped her. It wasn't hard because of how light she was. Her hands were wrapped around his neck as they kissed. Right there, in the Hogwarts hallway, they were kissing.

The couple reached at Lila's room and she was reluctant to leave him for the evening. "Stay with me," she begged.

"You know I cannot do that." Although she was drunk, she was still so very lovely.

"Why not Severus? I thought you were just starting to like me again." She flashed him a playful smile.

"Get some rest." He kissed her goodnight on the forehead and departed for his room.

Lila was sad to see him go. She truly wanted to spend more time with him.

One hour later, there was a knock at Snape's door. He hadn't gone to bed yet. He was up doing paper work. He stood up to answer the door. It was Lila still in the dress she wore out, but her hair was let down now. It was messy, but not a bad sort of messy, it still looked pleasing. "I told you to get some rest."

To anyone else but Lila, they might have thought Snape was telling them to go away, but Lila understood Snape and knew he was only saying that because he cared about her well-being. "I can't sleep." She let herself in, walking past his desk, headed to his bedroom.

"There are charms for that, Lily." He was beginning to doubt her capability at being a charms professor. She couldn't cast a sleep charm on herself. Not only that, but she could never produce- His train of thought was cut off by what she said next.

She turned her body half way around and looked at him. "What did you just call me?" She hated nothing more than being called Lily. It made her feel like he was always thinking of someone else.

Disregarding her question, he demanded, "you cannot stay here, it is against school rules."

She marched over to him with a heated look on her face, "you know what else is against school rules?" she said in a derogatory manor. She didn't mean to bring it up, but she was drunk and he had made the mistake of calling her Lily, so why couldn't she take a dig at him?

He stopped her before she could answer her own question. He knew what she was getting at. "I'm sorry. Please stay." He never meant to upset her.

She put her arms around Severus. She was pleased to hear him apologize. "I don't like it when you call me that, Sev." Lila had used the name Sev to refer to Severus back when she attended Hogwarts, without realizing his sentimental attachment to the name. He had always allowed her to use it.

He was happy to hear her call him that. The two went to bed. Lila climbed in first and waited for Severus when he pointed out that she couldn't wear her cocktail dress to bed. "I'll conjure up some pajamas for you." Severus drew the outline of her perfectly.

She grabbed the clothes. "Promise not to look?" she said innocently.

Severus sat down on the bed facing the other way. They had their back turned towards each other as Lila took off her dress. Severus turned around for just a quick glance without Lila noticing.

"Good night," she said as she climbed into bed a second time. Severus lied down next to her, under the covers. Lila moved into Sev's arms and instantly fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Sunday night at dinner, Dumbledore was about to announce the contestants for the Triwizard Tournament. Lila, in her silk dusky blue dress again, was particularly excited in finding out who would be competing. She never knew about the Triwizard Tournament before returning to Hogwarts. Lila and Severus had a wager going that a student from their house would be chosen for the tournament.

When the first three contestants were confirmed, Lila elbowed Severus. "So neither of our houses are competing eh? I guess it's for the better. I would be so consumed in worry if one of my students was chosen." From what Dumbledore had briefed her on, she knew the tournament could be deadly.

When Harry Potter's name shot out from the goblet of fire, Lila was just as shocked as everyone else in the room. Well, everyone else aside from Severus. Lila was truly astonished at what had just happened. She knew Harry didn't put his name in the cup, because there was an age line around it, but she had no idea how his name got in there. She was going to ask Severus about it later because it seemed like he expected it to happen. Other teachers did not follow the same logic as Lila. They wondered how Harry Potter's name ended up in the cup. They grew suspicious of Potter and believed he was the one who somehow put his name in the goblet.

Lila was consumed in thought; she was trying to understand how Harry's name was put into the goblet. _Someone must have done it for him_. _He paid someone to put it in there or someone put it in there without his knowledge…_ She was so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed Snape, along with most of the students and professors, had left the great hall. Lila decided to seek out Dumbledore, to find out if he knew anything about what had just occurred.

At his office, he was already speaking to all the other professors, Igor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, and Barty Crouch. Snape was not present. Dumbledore did not acknowledge Lila as she walked in late, "I just confronted the boy, and he has told me that he did not ask an older student or individual to put his name in the goblet of fire, and I have decided to trust him."

"That's absurd! No one in Hogwarts would put his name in the cup unless they were given some incentive by Harry!" exclaimed Barty Crouch.

Dumbledore was suspecting that it was someone _not_ inside Hogwarts, but decided not to voice that opinion to control everyone's fears. "At any rate, it does not matter how his name got into the cup. We must decide if he should compete or not."

"Well absolutely not! It's not safe!" said Crouch, determined to get his way.

"While I understand your concern, the goblet's decision is final and he must compete. We shall take a vote."

Lila, along with every other professor, Igor, and Maxime voted with Dumbledore while Crouch was the only opposing vote. She decided to vote with Dumbledore not necessarily because she agreed with him, or Barty for that matter, but because she trusted his judgment.

"Of course they're going to vote with you, after all you pay them!"

"I'm sorry you see it that way Barty, I hope you'll come around to understand that we must obey the goblet's decision. If any of you hear any news as to who put Harry's name in the goblet, I would greatly appreciate it if you could notify me as soon as possible." He dismissed them.

As Lila exited the headmaster's office she looked around for Snape. He wasn't there. She had been focused on Dumbledore during the meeting and didn't notice Snape's absence. _Where was he sneaking off to each week?_ She decided to check his office; maybe he had skipped the meeting to grade papers.

She knocked on his door; no answer. She knocked again, this time longer and louder; still no answer. She tried twisting the door knob; it was locked. "Alohomora!" The opening charm didn't work. Snape was smart enough to protect the lock. Lila put her back against his door as she thought about where he might be. Still thinking about it, she slowly walked back to her room.


	9. Chapter 9

Wednesday morning came around again and Professor Lermernia was teaching her fourth year students about the Accio charm. She noticed Harry giving her an evil glare the entire period. It did distract her a little, causing her to take unnecessary pauses, but she continued to teach the students to the best of her ability.

She dismissed the class at the appropriate time and sat down at her desk. She began overlooking the student's homework assignments they had just turned in and didn't notice Harry Potter walking up to her desk. Once he approached, he stared at her, waiting for her to notice him.

"Oh, hi! Hello Harry," she said finally. She folded her hands on top of her paperwork. "Listen Harry, I know other professors may doubt you, but I know you didn't put your name into the goblet of fire," she dictated honestly.

"Of course not," he flustered, "you know who did it. It was Snape." He was on the verge of fuming. He didn't like being conspired against by her and he hated even more that she was teasing him.

She was thrown off by his response. She was expecting him to be thankful that someone aside from Dumbledore trusted him. "What makes you think Snape put your name into the goblet?" She was interested to find out.

"He hates me," he said plainly.

She believed him and wondered if Snape's emotions towards Harry had anything to do with what happened between him and Lily. She was beginning to question if maybe Harry was right, maybe Snape did put his name into the goblet. "Harry I assure you, I had no part in this..."

Harry didn't believe her.

"…but trust me, I plan to talk to Snape about this whole ordeal."

**Writer's note: This chapter's coming to you a little earlier than normal. Since it is so short I will probably be uploading another chapter tonight around 1AM-2AM Eastern Time. I have somewhere to be tonight, so when I get back if I'm not that tired I'll be uploading another chapter. Thank you for reading and write me a review if you have any criticism! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Severus and Lila were seated next to each other at dinner that evening, as they always were.

"I'd like to speak with you after dinner if that's alright, Severus," Lila requested.

"Shall we speak in my room?" he obliged.

"Sure."

In his room, the two were standing. Lila was looking around at all his bookshelves and studied his books along with other items placed on the shelves, like his potions. "It's like you've got your own potion library in here, Severus," she marveled.

He was standing near the middle of the room, focused on her. "Indeed. What did you want to speak to me about?"

Lila faced him. "I trust you know Harry Potter was selected as a fourth contestant for the Triwizard Tournament…"

He nodded in agreement.

"…but he's not old enough to enter himself, so someone must have done it for him."

He kept nodding. This wasn't news to him.

"I noticed your absence at Dumbledore's meeting the night the contestants were selected, but he says that Harry did not wish for his name to be put into the goblet. He didn't pay someone off."

"Dumbledore has educated me about the information shared at the meeting."

"Oh…sorry. I didn't know the two of you had spoken. Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is, have you any idea how his name ended up in that cup?"

He raised his eyebrows and looked down at the floor in front of Lermernia. "No, I don't," he lied.

"Well Harry seems to think that you, and more surprisingly that I, had something to do with it." She put her hand on her chest as she referred to herself.

Snape furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and looked back up at Lermernia.

"He suspects you because he says you hate him," she said putting her arm back down at her side.

"I do not hate the boy."

She didn't believe him but decided to go with it anyway, "well then perhaps you could be a bit friendlier to him? You don't want people suspecting you of conspiracy and treating him meanly is not going to help your case. Not only that, but people are suspecting me of being in on it!"

"Dumbledore knows I did not put his name into the goblet," he paused, "and that is all that matters."

"You're lucky to have his trust, Severus."

"I'm lucky to have yours too," he said guilting her into believing him.

She thought about bringing up where he had gone off to that night but reminded herself that she was going to let him tell her when he was ready. She was looking at him as she contemplated talking to him about the subject anyway.

"Can I get you anything? Tea?"

"No," she said as she made her way to the door. She wasn't upset with Severus, she didn't have any reason to be, "I think I'm going to call it quits for the night," she just wanted some space to think.

Severus closed the door behind her as she left. He could tell she was overthinking everything that had happened during the week.

**Writer's note: Okay so I didn't upload a second chapter yesterday but I will hopefully be uploading chapter 11 tonight! Chapter 10 marks the halfway point in my story for Harry's 4th year. What do you guys think so far? Good? Bad? Slow? Write me a review, any criticism is helpful criticism :)**


	11. Chapter 11

Lila went to Dumbledore's office the next day. If he had a reason for trusting Snape, maybe she could too.

The busy headmaster was alone and sitting at his desk when she entered his office, "Lila! What a pleasant surprise. Have a seat. How are you enjoying your new profession?"

She gracefully sat in the seat across from Dumbledore, draping her silk dress to her side, "it's lovely. Thank you again for giving me the position. It's a great honor." Usually, head of houses were not as young as Professor Lermernia so she was grateful that Dumbledore trusted her enough for the job.

"You've always shone that you are wise beyond your years and I think many of the Ravenclaw students could learn a great deal from you. But I think you have come to talk to me for an alternate reason. What is troubling you?" Dumbledore's intuitions were always spot on, nothing had changed since Lila attended Hogwarts.

"Well, I wanted to ask you about Professor Snape." She looked at the headmaster with both her hands placed on the chair's arm rests.

"Relationship advice?"

Lila was astounded at how presumptuous he was. Lila and Severus had a few romantic encounters while she was a student at Hogwarts but she didn't think Dumbledore had known. The couple tried to keep it a secret from the headmaster, at the risk of being removed from the school for proceeding with a taboo relationship. Apparently, he knew about it all along. "Uhh, uhm," she was dumbfounded as she started to rub her forehead with her hand.

"Never mind, it seems that is not the reason you came to speak with me about. My apologies, Lila."

"No no," she said closing her eyes, shaking her head, and putting her hand back down on the arm rest, "no need to apologize," she opened her eyes again. "Harry Potter is under the impression that Severus put his name into the goblet of fire."

"Hmm, and you've asked Severus if there is any truth to Mr. Potter's assumption?"

"Yes, he said he had no idea who put his name in."

"And you are having trouble trusting him?" he asked in such a way that made Lila feel like she was wrong for doubting Severus.

She waited a few moments before answering him, "well it seems as if I have plenty of reasons not to trust him these days and very few reasons to trust him."

"Your love for him is not strong enough for you to be confident in him?" he looked at Lila over his glasses and waited for a reaction, "even so, Severus did not put Harry Potter's name into the goblet of fire."

"But why is Harry suspicious of him?"

"Severus and Harry have had a tumultuous relationship ever since before Harry was born, if you can believe it."

"It's something to do with Lily."

Dumbledore sat forward in his chair. He didn't think Severus would let on to Lila about the boy's mother. "Yes, yes it is something to do with Lily. But if Severus has not told you why, it is no place for me to do so."

Lila was getting anxious; she wanted answers, "but you do know that something happened between the two of them, something broke them apart. Do you think that something will break us apart?"

Dumbledore relaxed a bit, "who can say? It is up to the two of you to stop history from repeating itself. Be forgiving, Lila. There is always more to the picture than what meets the eye."

She took in the man's advice, "were they in love?" Lila had always felt herself struggling with an inner competition to beat out this Lily girl. True, she had no idea who she was to Snape, but if she was important enough to stay in Severus' mind all these years, she must have been very special. Lila wanted to know she was better than Lily, even if it was in just one aspect. She was always searching for something she was superior at.

Dumbledore thought about giving her the answer, "no," he finally said. He thought she deserved to take away at least one straight answer, even if the answer was only half true.

A satisfied Lila left the headmaster's office and returned to her room.


	12. Chapter 12

Severus and Lila sat next to each other in the stands during the first task in the tournament. After talking with Dumbledore, she was ready to be around him again. They discussed strategies, among other friendly subjects, as they watched the first three contestants attempt the task.

When Harry Potter's turn came to try to retrieve the golden egg from his dragon, it had gotten very cold. Severus put his arm around Lila to keep her warm, with his cloak swathed around her back. She wrapped her arms around him.

Ron Weasley, who was sitting a few rows in front of the couple, noticed Snape's actions towards the young professor and became confused.

Lila was focused on the event, but Severus noticed the red head staring at them. He titled his head to the side and shot back a disrespectful glare.

"Bloody weird those two," Ron said to Hermione who was sitting next to him.

Hermione looked at the couple, she didn't need Ron to point out who he was talking about, she knew. The whole school knew. Every student in Hogwarts thought it was out of character for Snape to be showing affection towards someone, let alone someone as new to the school as Lermernia.

Harry retrieved the egg and everyone in the stands cheered. No doubt Harry's attempt was the most entertaining to watch. Lila stood up to cheer, while Severus stayed seated while sparsely clapping.

Lila invited Severus to her room after the task. Lila walked with excitement as she walked from the stands to her room while Severus strode in his usual manner.

"They're all such clever individuals! Oh I'm sure Fleur would be Ravenclaw if she attended Hogwarts and you'd be stuck with Krum in Slytherin," she laughed.

"Krum is likely to win the tournament, so that would be quite the accomplishment had he been sorted into Slytherin," he rebutted.

The two heads of houses arrived at Lila's room. "Alohomora," Lila chanted as the door opened, "see, I don't need to protect my lock," she taunted.

"Then don't come crying to me when a first year breaks into your chamber," he smiled proving Ravenclaws weren't the only witty ones.

She admired his wit as she offered him some tea and invited him to sit. Lermernia's room has the same floor layout as Snape's. Instead of bookshelves in her office, she has a mural of stars around all the dark blue walls. Her white desk is off to one side with a few dozen books on surrounding white shelves. She has white seating furniture in the middle which Severus found himself seated on.

Lermernia sat down next to Severus on her white sofa. "So how are your classes going?" she asked trying to make small talk.

"What is it about me that makes you not trust me?" he asked looking forward, not making eye contact.

She looked at him, "I trust you, Sev." Why did he doubt her?

She used that name again. "You're lying."

"I just…" she wanted him to believe her. She was tired of fighting with him. "I don't know why you can't tell me where you sneak off to."

He looked at her, "I may never be able to tell you that, but you have to believe me." He held her gaze for a while, "Dumbledore told me you were having trouble trusting me."

"So you're telling me to just put this out of my mind? To not worry about you when you sneak away all the time? How do you expect me to do that?"

"These things take time, Lila."

"But, can you at least tell me that where you're going isn't dangerous. Tell me that you're not going to die from this."

He thought about how dangerous his relationship with the dark lord really was, and how it could very well result in death. "Nothing bad is going to happen." He had to lie to protect their relationship.

She hugged Severus with relief, placing her head in his chest. Her chin was dug into his chest as she looked up at him. He kissed her forehead. She repositioned herself to look him the eye. She placed one hand on his face just the same way she did that first night. She drew his face into hers and began kissing him on the lips. Severus spent the night in Lermernia's room to further comfort her, and more importantly because he was beginning to fall in love with her all over again.

**Big thanks to LemonDropsWoolSocks for continuously giving me very kind reviews!**


	13. Chapter 13

It was Christmas evening as Lila and Severus prepared for the Yule Ball. Since they were only chaperoning the event, it wasn't really proper for them to get all dressed up. The couple showed up to the ball in their normal teaching attire.

They arrived a half hour early at 7:30 to help finish setting up for the ball. "Aguamenti!" Lila said as she filled up an empty punch bowl with water. Severus was using his wand to hang some final decorations when the first few students started to arrive. Lila walked over to him.

"Are you excited?" she asked.

"Excited for what?" he looked at her with a genuine gaze of confusion.

_Typical pessimistic Severus_, she thought as she walked away.

She was at the entrance to the ball, greeting students and directing them where to go when Severus appeared behind her.

"Yes," he said. She turned around to face him. Looking over her shoulder, eye brows raised, at the new students arriving, "yes I am excited to spend my evening with you." He flashed a teasing smile and looked her in the eye.

She smiled at him and turned back around to continue greeting the students.

Eight o'clock rolled around as the four contestants and their dates got into position for the ceremonial first dance. Lila, Snape and many other professors and students circled around to watch the eight of them dance. Lila waved at Cho, who was being held in position by Cedric, before the music started. Lila was happy to see her at the ball no less with the very handsome Cedric.

After the four couples had been dancing for a short while, Dumbledore invited Professor McGonagall to dance. The crowds cheered. Snape followed suit in asking Lila to dance with him. Nearly all of the students gasped when the two stepped out onto the dance floor. Many students were surprised to see Snape dancing, especially the Malfoy boy.

"Our old Professor Snape has gone soft, boys," the blonde haired boy sneered to his associates.

Snape glared at the young boy as best he could while dancing. He tried to convey anger and disappointment through his expressions. He knew Draco could be rash, but that didn't excuse him from insulting the professor.

"Just ignore it, Sev." Severus was just as conservative when she attended Hogwarts, but she still didn't like how everyone else thought his dancing was so unbelievably out of character. "He doesn't know you." _They couldn't possibly understand_ she thought. She empathized with Severus. She felt terrible knowing how labeled he was. It was like the whole of Hogwarts had put him into this stereotyped box, and now they were scolding him for leaving it. They were reprimanding him for trying something new and although this enraged Lila, she knew they weren't the problem. She knew, by what he did next, that it was Severus who needed to work on his confidence.

Snape couldn't stand being gawked at and teased any longer. Dancing in front of strangers was one thing, but dancing before his students and colleagues; people who he would see again and could very well tease him about his performance, was different. He immediately exited the room in the middle of the dance, and left Lila standing by herself amongst the children who continued dancing. The students didn't know what to do; many sympathized with her, especially Cho. A caught off guard Lila fled the dance floor in the opposite direction that Snape did. She could not believe the amount of embarrassment he just put her through.


	14. Chapter 14

Lila was sobbing while patrolling the school grounds. Both she and Severus were still obliged to chaperone the entire evening. She was trying to avoid him. She sat down on bench outside and continued crying, holding her face in her hands. All she was wearing was her thin silk dress, so she was quite cold. However, she preferred staying out in the cold than being around all those students pitying her. She could handle people's criticisms about her relationship with Severus but it was becoming ever more evident that the same could not be said for the potions teacher.

She felt someone put a coat on her back. It was Severus who sat down next to her, leaning forward holding his hands together. "I do love you, you know."

She was trying to wipe tears from her face. She hated the way she looked when she cried.

"I just don't understand why we have to display our affection publicly."

She thought about what she would say next. _Well then we don't. We can be done if that's what you want._

"It's hard for me."

_Right, it's hard for YOU so WE end up not doing it. Thinking about you first, instead of us first._

"If you're not going to talk to me, can I at least get you to move inside? It's freezing out here." He stood up in the hopes that she would follow.

She didn't, "all I wanted was a lovely evening spent between the two of us," she sniffled, "we'd start off by doing one dance. Just _one_ dance. Then we'd tell Dumbledore that we were going to patrol the halls, but just have a nice kiss instead. We'd talk and fall more in love with each other, and then at midnight, you would walk me back to my room and kiss me goodnight. And I'd go to bed dreaming of you."

He sat back down next to her, touched by what she just said, "We can still do most of those things," he grabbed her chin and made her look at him. He began wiping extra tears off her face, "I just told Dumbledore I was going to circuit the hallways, what was it you wanted to do next?" He leaned his face in and began kissing the crying girl. She pulled away after a bit and put her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry you're upset, but could we maybe move inside before your tear drops turn into icicles?" he said with a smile.

Lila stood up, grabbed his icy hand, and followed Severus back into the castle. She returned his cloak once they were inside.

"Have I ever told you that you look just like a princess in that dress?" They wandered the halls with no destination.

"Have I ever told you that you look just like a scoundrel in your robes?" She wasn't trying to be callous when she said it, just making a humorous observation she thought.

"The most unlikely match. The princess and the _scoundrel_," he said putting emphasis on the last word as if to verify to Lermernia what she had just said.

"Well he's a handsome scoundrel of course," she said somewhat taking back her insult.

"Oh right, right. Our heroine wouldn't make that trade off."

She loved how much he understood her sense of humor. She was very dark when she made jokes. Anyone who didn't know Lila would mistake it for insolence, but those who knew her well, like Severus, knew that she was only insulting to be comical. She hardly ever meant the mean things she said. Severus enjoyed that about her, because his sense of humor was very much the same.

The pair continued walking and holding hands, looking for hooligans to discern. They carried on a lovely conversation about some of the imbecilic muggles Lermernia worked with at her previous job. Despite Lila being sorted into Ravenclaw, she was still very sadistic and enjoyed making fun of people.

Midnight came and Severus escorted Lila back to her room. The halls were still empty even though the ball had just ended. They stood in the doorway as he kissed her goodnight on the forehead.

"See you tomorrow," he said. He looked at her for a moment and then left the doorway to return to his quarters.

"Sev," she spoke quietly from inside her room.

The shadowy man reappeared in her doorway.

"I love you," she said looking him in the eye.


	15. Chapter 15

The following evening, Snape was alone in his classroom fetching some paperwork he had forgotten. He heard a terribly loud and frightening shriek in the hallway and ran to help what he presumed was a student. It was Potter clutching and closing the golden egg he retrieved from the first task. Snape raised one eyebrow and prepare to tell the fourth year off when Professor Moody appeared.

"I'll take care of the boy, Professor," Moody said anxiously.

Snape knew that Professor Moody was the one who put Harry Potter's name into the goblet of fire. He also knew that the man in front of him was not the real professor Moody. He was aware of Barty Crouch Jr.'s intentions and because of that, tried to get rid of him to protect Harry Potter, "I think I can handle it," he said slowly, with emphasis.

"Why don't you just go and cuddle up with Miss Lermernia, eh? I'm sure she'd be happy to see you."

Snape came to two conclusions about Crouch Jr.'s accusations. One was that he had presumably told the dark lord about his relationship with the young woman and the other, which he determined from Barty's last sentence, was that after learning his romantic affiliation with Lila, the dark lord may have taken her hostage. Barty Jr. would have told Voldemort about his relationship with the new professor and the dark lord would ostensibly see it as a prime tool to manipulate him. At any rate, Lila's safety was more important to him than Harry's so he began walking speedily to her room.


	16. Chapter 16

As soon as he arrived, he started pounding heavily on the door. Lila was in her bed sleeping when she heard the obnoxious noise. "Alohomora," Snape cried. It didn't work. _Damn her for taking my advice_ he thought. He was frantic. Every second felt like an hour to him. It took her a few moments to get to her door and open it. Severus let out a barely audible sigh of relief and then immediately grabbed her head, putting one hand on each side of her forehead and searching her eyes for any telling signs.

"What were the last words you spoke to me?" he demanded. Someone could have disguised themselves as her using polyjuice potion.

"Severus, why are you behaving like this? Are you ok?"

"The last words you said to me! I need to know, now!"

"I told you that I loved you."

He closed his eyes and put his fore arm on his forehead in relief. He was happily reminded of her last words but also thankful that it was the real Lila before him.

"Here, sit down," she could tell he was stressed. She turned on her stove and began heating up some water. "Are you okay, Sev? Do you need anything?" She sat down next to him on the sofa.

"I'm staying here tonight and you cannot ask me why. You have to trust me." He was worried someone might come to collect her in the middle of the night. He needed to be there to protect her.

She was fine with his first demand. She liked spending time with him. "What's the matter?"

"No, Lila. _You cannot ask why_," he repeated.

She became increasingly suspicious. "Remember when I asked you if where you had been sneaking off to was dangerous, if your life was being threatened? You said nothing bad would happen. Is that still true, Severus?"

He realized it would be nearly impossible to cover up all of his lies. It was unmanageable. He took in a worried breath, "No."

"Was it ever true?"

He paused, "no."

She thought about what he said as she got up to fix a hot wet towel with the boiling water. She folded it over slowly in her hands and returned to her seat on the couch. She began dabbing Severus' head with the towel to relax him. "Should we tell Dumbledore?"

"He already knows."

Lila was trying to understand, "he already knows and allows you to continue you to be put in harm's way? Are you telling me the truth right now, Sev?"

"It's not his fault that I am in this predicament, it is by my own doing," he explained with sorrow.

Lila laid her head on his shoulder in confusion. Fishing for answers was not the right thing to do at this moment. He was consumed with worry and Lila knew he needed her support. "At least I know I'm safe for the night with you around." She rubbed his arm. She moved her hands to his and grabbed it as she stood up, "come lie down."

"You go ahead; I'll be there in a minute. I need to think."

"Don't worry so much, Sev. It's not good for you."

"I know, I know," he politely shooed her away.


	17. Chapter 17

The next day at the second task it was extremely chilly out. The contestants were to fetch some unknown possession from the lake. Three large platforms were placed on top of the lake to provide a viewing area for students and teachers. Snape's arm was wrapped around Lila as the contestants prepared. She was gripping his side tightly because she was quite cold. Many people were staring at them again. Some were amazed that they had made up after what happened during the Yule Ball and others were just perplexed by their relationship. One glower in particular that Snape noticed was Professor Moody's, or as Snape knew him; Barty Crouch Jr. He gawked back at him.

Lila cheered as the four contestants entered the water. The cheering broke Snape's glare. He turned his attention to the task.

Sixty one long, agonizing, chilling minutes passed before Cedric and Cho returned to the surface. The observers, including Lila, were beginning to worry what was taking so long. Lila was relieved that her student Cho was no longer in danger but she was worried about the safety of the other contestants' partners. The remaining contestants appeared shortly after Cedric and everyone was especially surprised to see Harry arrive with both Ron and Fleur's younger sister.

When places were awarded, everyone thought it was particularly fair when Harry was awarded Second Place for admirable morals. Lila expressed to Snape that she wanted to congratulate the young man, and headed his way.

She pushed through the crowd to get to the second place winner. Snape followed. He didn't want to be away from here incase Crouch Jr. got ahold of her.

"Congratulations Harry!" The red head exclaimed as she put forth her hand to shake his.

He looked at her hand and then looked her in the eye.

She took her hand back and smiled. She understood he probably didn't trust her yet, but she was going to be polite about it.

Harry continued through the crowd and Lila's attention turned to Cho.

"Cho! Darling, are you alright? The merpeople didn't hurt you did they?" she asked motherly.

"I'm fine Miss thanks," the Ravenclaw replied.

Lila used the air-dry charm on Cho, noticing she was still wet.

"Thank you Miss."

"No problem," the head of house said with a smile.

Snape clutched her waist and whispered in here ear.

"Excuse me," she said to Cho.

Cho nodded as she watched her two professors walk away, with Snape's hands still on Lila's waist.


	18. Chapter 18

It was late at night the next day. Lila was in her room, sleeping presumably, and Snape had just gotten back from another death eater meeting. Lila hadn't been the only one who caught onto Snape's disappearances. Igor Karkaroff had taken notice to the strange man's habit of leaving unannounced. He had seen Snape leave earlier that night and decided to stake him out, by waiting in his potions closet. Snape was walking through the castle halls on his way to his room, when he stopped in his potions closet to get some sleeping draught. He was mildly surprised to see Igor waiting for him. He knew Igor was an ex-death eater and he was expecting a time when he confronted him about his death eater status.

"Severus!" Igor exclaimed.

"The dark lord is disappointed in your actions, Igor and has since advised me to show you no mercy," Snape grabbed the man by his throat and thrust him up against the closet's shelf. He pulled out his wand and held it up to his throat.

"It has returned to my fore arm, Severus! I cannot allow my students to see this!"

"Pity. Perhaps this will always be a reminder of your betrayal to him."

Just then Snape heard footsteps outside. He stepped out into the hallway and looked in either direction. If someone had been listening to their conversation, it would be very detrimental. He did not see anyone but was concerned that someone may be using an invisibility cloak. He chose his next words carefully, just in case.

"I'm returning to my chamber, and I suggest you do the same," he looked the man up and down before leaving to intimidate him.

Igor stepped out of Snape's potions closet and started sluggishly walking towards his room, frustrated that he did not accomplish removing his dark mark.

Snape watched him for a few moments before putting a protective locking spell on his door. He then headed for Lila's room. He was still concerned that Voldemort may be after her once Crouch Jr. expressed his eminent awareness of their relationship. Snape had alerted Dumbledore about Barty Jr.'s configuration but the headmaster decided not to oust him. Instead, he took it upon himself to watch the man closely. If he had exposed Crouch Jr., then Voldemort may grow suspicious of Snape's loyalty and Dumbledore did not want that.

Severus knocked on Lila's door and patiently waited.

"Come in," she said from her bedroom.

Snape opened the door and found Lila lying down in her bed, "you cannot leave your door unlocked like that!"

"Calm down, Severus, I knew you would be stopping by so I left it unlocked for you."

"Do not leave it unlocked again."

She sat up, "this is ridiculous, Severus, am I supposed live the rest of my life in a state of worry that someone is going to kidnap me in the middle of the night?"

"It will only be for a little while," he knew that once Crouch Jr., was exposed Lila would probably be safe again.

"And the only reason I'm in any danger at all is because of you?"

"Yes," he answered with regret. He _never_ meant to put her in danger. She was the only thing he cared about in this world and would die to defend her.

"Then maybe we shouldn't be together." Severus had been crowding a lot the past few days and although she understood his actions she still did not enjoy being under his constant surveillance.

He was shattered. The idea for them to separate never entered his mind. He didn't want to be apart from her, he loved her. He was in a state of complete dishevelment knowing that she didn't want to be with him anymore and the thing that stung the worst was this was the exact same reason his dear Lily never loved him. He wanted to tell her everything; that he was a spy, who Professor Moody really was, what happened with Lily. But Dumbledore had advised him to keep this all private and he knew he couldn't break that trust if he ever wanted even just a chance to be with Lila again. He was hopeful that she would change her mind once this all blew over.

Severus had been quiet for some time now and Lila was looking at him, wondering what he was thinking.

"Right. Why didn't I think of it sooner?" he tried to smile as he stood up and left her room.

Lila could tell he was upset but wondered why he didn't ask for them to stay together. She put it out of her mind and tried to get a good night's rest.

**Only one more chapter until the end of Harry's Fourth year! :)**


	19. Chapter 19

A few days passed and neither one of them had so much as said hello to one another. They avoided each other as much as possible, even had their seats moved apart from each other at the staff table. Not many students noticed this change. It was much more alarming when the odd couple were together versus when they were apart so they naturally received less attention now. Lila had been trying so hard not to miss him. She thought of the time she spent in the muggle world after graduating and tried to remember how she rarely thought of him during that time. She wondered if he missed her too.

The whole of Hogwarts gathered outside and filled the stands waiting for the third and final task to begin. Snape was seated by himself and Lila sat next to Hagrid who she was quickly becoming friends with. Lila had always been an animal lover and enjoyed helping Hagrid look after his companions. Everyone watched the four contestants enter the human maze and cheered for their favorites as they began walking away. Lila was still rooting for Harry even though he expressed his distrust in her.

Snape was very much aware of what was to take place that night after the competition. Everyone was anxious for the outcome of this event, but Snape was even more fretful at what events might unfold. He was expecting Harry Potter's death, yet there was nothing he could do to stop this occurrence.

Roughly one hour had passed when Harry Potter appeared clutching Cedric. When everyone stood up to cheer, Snape stood up in surprise. _He's supposed to be dead_ he thought. Harry was crying over Cedric who was laying down when all the patrons realized Cedric was in fact dead. The crowd went silent. Cedric's father came down from the stands in distress and Dumbledore immediately followed. Lila glanced over at Snape to get a look at his expression. His face was blank. It was always blank. Lila turned her attention back to Cedric. She had trouble feeling sorry for the family. To be honest, she was more excited to see someone had finally endured serious harm after constantly hearing about how dangerous this tournament was. She didn't let on about her true feelings though.

Everyone began exiting the seating area; some to convey their condolences to Cedric's father and others to return to their quarters. Meanwhile, Professor Moody collected Harry Potter and took him to his room. Snape was the only one to see this and, fearful for the boy's life, alerted Dumbledore to the situation. Dumbledore immediately rounded up the other heads of houses and instructed them to meet him in front of Moody's room. Lila headed straight there when she heard the news.

It had already been a short while before everyone arrived at the professor's chamber. They entered his room to find him interrogating Harry Potter. Moody stepped away from the boy when they entered.

"What is going on here Alastor?" Dumbledore asked knowing it was not the real Alastor in front of him.

"Trying to find out the details of Cedric's death, Professor."

Dumbledore looked at Harry and he returned the glance.

"Now Harry, tell me what else happened at the grave yard."

"I never told you I was in a grave yard, Professor" Harry retorted.

In that moment Alastor's light red hair turned to dark brown and his face began to morph. Moody struggled to find more polyjuice potion and therefore had to allow the transformation take place. After a few seconds, Barty Crouch Jr. stood in front of all of them. Dumbledore walked over to him and demanded the release of the real Professor Moody. Crouch Jr. revealed to all of them that the real Alastor was being kept hostage in a magical trunk. Lila was in complete shock of what the events that had just happened. She had never witnessed anything like it before.

She walked back to her room alone while processing what just transpired. The halls were empty seeing as it was very late at night.

"Lila," Severus called from behind her.

"Oh hi Severus," she said calmly. She was happy to see him.

"How are you doing?" he didn't ask to be polite, he was concerned about her well-being.

"Fine. I have a question for you that I hope you'll be able to answer; was it Barty Jr., that you were worried about all this time? Did you think he was the one who was going to harm me?"

"Yes," for once he was able to answer honestly.

"So this means-"

"There is nothing in our way," he said with a hopeful smile on his face.

"Well Severus the school year is nearly over and I…I'm going back to Chicago for the summer,"

"No matter, we can still write to one another."

He wasn't making this easy, "Severus I think it's best if we continue our separation."

"Don't be so irrational."

"Severus," she said coolly, "I'm not being irrational. You know I don't like long distance relationships. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for me to think about you and receive letters from you and not be able to see you? Not be able to touch you…" she put her hand on his face as one tear ran down her face. "If it's any consolation, I'll be here next year."

All the feelings of when the two of them had separated at the time when Lila graduated flooded back to him. He was just as unsure then of the power of their love as he is now. _But what if you don't love me next year_ he thought. He didn't want them to end like this.

Lila turned away and began walking towards her room. She didn't want to hear anything he might say next, if anything.

Severus mumbled something.

"What?" she turned half way around.

"Say it again; just say it one more time," he pleaded.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sev."

That was what he wanted. He wanted to hear her call him that one last time. That one syllable would play over and over in his head throughout the entire summer. He smiled and turned around and began walking away.

Lila stood in place and watched him leave. _Strange_.

**Writer's note: Well that's the end of Harry's Fourth year! I hope you liked it! Chapters are not going to be posted as regularly from now on. School has started for me, so my main focus is going to be that. I will be writing for the continuation of Harry's years at Hogwarts so please know this is not the end!**


	20. Chapter 20

Lila spent her summer in Chicago working as a mathematics consultant for an insurance company. She hated working in insurance, she thought it was the most boring job ever but at least it kept her mind off of Severus. He spent his summer in his home at Spinner's End, sulking. He was counting down the days until he would see her again at Hogwarts. He reapplied for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position and hoped that finally Dumbledore might accept him for the position, but he didn't count on it. He knew Voldemort would be after Harry this year and it was imperative for the students to actually learn some useful defensive spells. He trusted that Dumbledore would make the right choice for the job.

The time came for the professors to return to Hogwarts. Severus was one of the first to arrive. He wanted to be there when Lila reached the school. Once he arrived, he tidied his room. He kept most of his belongings there so there was no need to unpack, but it had gotten a bit gloomy while he was away. Or maybe it had always been a gloomy room and it was his new found optimism that changed the way he saw it. He was very eager to see Lila and hoped that she would feel the same.

Since Lila was coming by plane from Chicago, she was late. She entered the great hall from the chamber of portraits right as new students were being sorted. She took her seat at the staff table next to Hagrid and began chatting with him. Snape was one of few professors to notice her entrance. He stared at her from the other end of the staff table hoping she would notice him. She didn't. Once the students were sorted, Dumbledore introduced the new defense teacher; Professor Umbridge. Lila didn't think much of her but Severus was disappointed in the choice Dumbledore had made. Surely this teapot of a woman could not effectively teach students how to defend themselves. He decided to confront Dumbledore about it later that evening. Meanwhile, Lila was anxious to meet her new students and greet her returning ones. She also wanted to say hello to Harry Potter in the hopes that maybe he was starting to trust her.

After dinner she walked with her students to the Ravenclaw common room. She spoke to all of her students and told them that she would always be there for any of them if they need help or guidance. She was very compassionate towards her students and all of them believed her to be genuine. It was obvious how much she cared about her students.

While Lila was talking to her students, Snape was speaking to Dumbledore in his office, "How could you hire a woman from the ministry to teach here? And the dark arts no less! Not only that but she is the most demure woman I have ever seen. There is no possible way that she can help Hogwarts students achieve effective defense methods. You should have let me teach the class, Albus."

"Unfortunately, the ministry has come to doubt our teachings at Hogwarts and has therefore enlisted one of their own to educate here. I believe their intentions are to put someone on the inside as a way to get information. I am no happier about this than you are, Severus, but we must come to accept this change. The ministry has issued a smear campaign against Harry and me after he announced that Voldemort has returned. They refuse to acknowledge his reappearance and find Harry and me to be senseless."

He was upset about not being offered the position but he understood why she must teach the class. "If there is anything I can do for you or the school, Albus…"

"How is Miss Lermernia doing?" Dumbledore was keen to find out.

"I…I don't know. I haven't spoken to her yet."

"Do you suppose she'll overlook the events that took place last year?"

"I'm not sure, but what are we doing to convince the ministry that you and Harry are telling the truth?" he questioned, avoiding the subject.

"I think she'll forgive you, Severus. Just be patient with her." Dumbledore was putting forth his best effort to persuade the ministry and didn't require any help from Severus at this time.

Snape thought about whether to continue asking questions about the ministry or not but decided he'd better not at the risk of being reminded he and Lila were not together anymore. "Right," Snape turned to leave the headmaster's office. He thought about his advice as he left.


	21. Chapter 21

After speaking with her own students and sending them to bed that evening, Lila decided to set out and find Harry Potter. The corridors were empty as she headed for the Gryffindor common room. Snape was on his way back to his room from Dumbledore's office when he saw Lila walking down the hallway towards him. They were the only two around.

"Hi," she said as they approached one another.

He nodded at her as he passed. He wanted to turn around and hold her, but he knew that was not acceptable behavior for their situation.

She watched him walk past and felt sorry for the man. She never meant to discourage him, "where are you going? You can't even say hello to me?"

He stopped and turned around to face her.

"I don't want things to be like this, Severus. I don't want you to only nod at me when we see each other."

He waited for her to say something worthwhile.

She started playing with her hands and looked down at them, "I don't even know if you care to hear this, but I thought a lot about you this summer," she looked at him now to try and gauge his expression. "I thought a lot about how we ended things, and I don't mean last year." She walked over to him slowly, "do you regret it, Sev?"

He wrapped his arms around her as she did the same placing her chin on his shoulder, "more than you'll ever know."

Tears filled her eyes as he held her for a while. She thought about his response and how much he loved her. But not even how much he loved her right then, how much he always loved her. How much he probably thought about her after she graduated and how happy he must have been when they revived their relationship last year. And she had been happy too. With Crouch Jr. out of the way, what was stopping them from carrying on with their relationship? Nothing.

As he released her she wiped tears from her eyes. He was thwarted with himself for his past actions which caused her to cry many more times than just now.

"I have to get going," Lila said as she walked past him.

He watched her leave before returning to his room.

**Writer's note: Okay so I think I'm going to upload one chapter every Saturday and Wednesday(this might change to Tuesday). This chapter is kinda slow and vague, but next chapter should be interesting. Thanks for reading! :)**


	22. Chapter 22

"Mimbulus Mimbletonia," Lila recited to the fat lady painting. She along with every other professor knew all of the passwords to the house common rooms for safety issues. When she entered Harry, Ron, Hermione and many other Gryffindors were standing in the common room. They all turned their attention to her when she entered.

"Hello Harry," she said once she sought him out, "can I talk to you outside for a moment please?"

"Sure," he responded.

The two walked just outside the common room. "I just wanted to welcome you back to Hogwarts," she said with a smile.

"Thank you," he still did not trust her but she was growing on him.

"I'm sure you've spoken to Dumbledore about the Ministry's campaign against you?" Lila was briefed on the Ministry's objectives before she arrived at Hogwarts through a letter from Dumbledore.

"Yes."

"I think it's just awful what they are trying to pursue. It's not fair to exploit you like that, Harry and I'm surprised they are getting away with it. I want you to know that I, like many others here at Hogwarts, are on your side. I believe in you, Harry."

He smiled halfheartedly. He thought she was a little overbearing and trying a little too hard.

"I will always be here for you if you need anything; _anything_ Harry," she paused and waited for a response, "I'll see you at charms class on Tuesday." She walked down a moving staircase and proceeded to her room.

"Mimbulus Mimbletonia," said Harry as he entered his common room for a second time that evening. Hermione and Ron had been just inside and listening in on his entire conversation.

"I don't know why you don't trust her Harry," said the always logical Hermione, "she seems to really want to help you."

"She may have ulterior motives, Snape does after all." From Dumbledore's pensieve the year before Harry understood that Snape was a death eater turned spy for Dumbledore but Harry still questioned Snape's authenticity and expressed his concern to his friends. Judging by Snape's character Harry was more likely to suspect that Snape was a Hogwarts teacher turned spy for Voldemort and just telling Dumbledore otherwise.

"But she and Snape have split up," said Ron. The other two looked at him with question in their expressions, "haven't you heard? The whole school is on about it."

Hermione looked back at Harry. "What ulterior motives could she possibly have now that she's not with Snape anymore?"

"I don't know! Maybe she's one of them! She wears long sleeves all the time so she could be covering up her dark mark and how did she meet Snape in the first place anyway? Based on their affection there's no way they met for the first time last year. Snape would never be so caring towards a woman he barely knows. They met at a death eater meeting."

"You're jumping to conclusions, Harry," Hermione said flatly, "and maybe she has since stopped being a death eater, and maybe that is why Snape left her."

"Oh no, Snape didn't leave her," Ron said to the two of them, "she broke up with him."

"Aha! See? Lermernia broke up with Snape when she learned he was a death eater," Hermione concluded.

"Argghh! This is all speculation. We don't know anything for sure and we cannot trust either of them until we know," Harry said frustratingly.

"I still don't think she means you any harm, Harry. Didn't she tell you last year that she joined the order?"

_That's right_ he remembered. "That doesn't mean anything. Snape is in the order," he rebutted.

"Whatever you say Harry," Hermione wasn't agreeing with him but stopped the conversation for argument's sake.

The trio went off to their respective rooms and fell asleep for the night.


	23. Chapter 23

Tuesday morning in Charms class, Lermernia was warning her fifth years about the O.W.L. exams coming up. "Not everything on the exam will be taught in class, so you're going to have to do a lot of outside work. I will be assigning homework each night of about two or three charms I want you to learn by the next time we meet. No exceptions. I'll do my best to teach you as much as I can in class but understand it is not up to me to fully prepare you for this exam."

Students were groaning all throughout the class. The charms test was expected to be one of; if not the hardest O.W.L. the students would be taking that year.

"Alright, let's move on. We'll be learning about the Silencio charm today."

"Is it true?" asked an anxious Draco Malfoy from the back of the room.

"Is what true?" Lermernia replied.

He smiled and did a playful nod at his friend Goyle, "That you and Snape have called it quits?"

Lermernia ignored him. _How does he know what's going on?_ "Could someone please tell me an adequate situation to use the Silencio charm?"

Hermione raised her hand and Lermernia allowed her to speak, "Perhaps when an insolent student is mocking their teacher?" Gryffindors in the class began laughing at their classmate's reply. Lermernia smiled and was glad that Hermione had made herself known as an ally to her.

At the end of class, Lermernia asked Malfoy to stay behind, "What makes you think it is appropriate to bring up a professor's personal matters like that, Draco?" she scolded, "I'm disappointed in you. Five points from Slytherin."

"Oh what, do you have a friendly house cup competition going on with Professor Snape then? You think you can leave him in the dust and beat out his house in the house cup?"

"Five more points from Slytherin. Keep it up and it'll be another five. Now get out of my classroom." She couldn't stand how public her relationship was.


End file.
